The Starfleet Four
by Defender of the Dogma
Summary: When younger versions of Kirk, Spock, Chekov, and Uhura and placed on a copy Enterprise, what craziness will ensue? What villains will be vanquished? What inner secrets will be revealed? Possibly none, but seriously, these are Jim, Pavel, Nyota, and Spock we're talking about. How could it not be awesome? (And honestly, this is one of my favorite stories)
1. Chapter 1

The Starfleet Four

Book one

I always sorta figured that Chekov's english would be worse as a child than as an adult, so here was this! Also, to clear things up, the full names of people are James Kirk, Nyota Uhura, Pavel Chekov, and I'm just sticking with Spock because his full name is apperently unpronounceable by humans.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the killer bunny rabbit of the plot. (No one ever gets this joke. Hint: Big fangs, sharp pointy teeth! And, plot bunny! Get it? No? "…" Sigh.) And this goes for all the chapters, since I'm not going to put this every time.

Chapter 1

It started out as an ordinary day. Then again, didn't they all? Of course, because things never could stay normal, they were attacked by Gardanas, and had been completely defeated. They'd never had a chance, really. Gardana's were a species very devoted to science, and had decided that the Enterprise's crew would make great guinea pigs. These aliens did not care for killing, but they seemed to think that violence was the only way to get these humans (and half human half Vulcan) to comply to be used in a highly dangerous experiment that broke 6 different laws and put the lives of all who participated in danger. They were probably right. So that was how Captain James T Kirk, First officer Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, and Ensign Chekov found themselves in a large, empty room, with no furniture whatsoever. Their captors left, and the foursome were left to their own devices.

"Mr Spock, any ideas?" Kirk queried.

"At present, captain…" Spock never finished that sentence. Because a dart had hit him in the neck. He fell, and was soon joined by the others. When they awoke, they found themselves in a different room entirely. Kirk was livid.

"What have you done to us?" He spat at the tall graceful Gardana in front of him.

"We have used you. You are not permitted to leave. We shall choose the time of your departure. If you attempt escape, or engage in any other non desirable activities, then your crew will die." Kirk clenched his fists. "We will, however, allow you to observe what we have done, and it's effects."

"And just what would these effects be?"

"I do not know them all, captain. This shall be most fascinating." The alien pressed a button on a large control panel, and brought up a visual. It showed the Enterprise on forced orbit around whatever planet they were on, only… a patch of slightly discolored metal was missing, and there wasn't that slight tilt on the starboard engine, things only a captain, or someone who truly loved the Enterprise would notice, but there all the same.

"That's not the Enterprise." The Garudan raised one high set eyebrow in surprise.

"Observant, captain. You are correct, that is not your vessel. That remains on planet. No, this is a close replica, for the replica's of yourselves."

"What?"

"That is the experiment. We took you child forms and placed them here. We wish to see how ones of starfleet were as children, if greatness is acquired with age in your species, or if it something cultivated from the very beginning. We have had barely any interactions with humans or Vulcans before, so this weighs greatly on us. As for your child selves, they will not remember how they came, and their memories will be consistent with their ages. They will know nothing of their future lives."

"You must let us go! Holding starfleet officers is a capital offence, you could be…"

"Captain, do you think we have not thought of that? You are not in Federation space now, we are not bound by Federations laws. And we have no wish to harm you, only we fear your freedom would interfere with the experiment."

"Fascinating." Spock noted. "You acquired younger versions of ourselves, and have placed them in such a setting to observe their reaction." Their captor nodded.

"That is correct."

"May I inquire as to why Helmsman Sulu is not present? You have gathered the rest of the bridge crew."

"An astute observation, and from a Vulcan we expect no less. Unfortunately, there is something in his DNA which rendered him unusable for our purposes. Besides it is good for your crew to have someone from it's bridge crew to keep calm and command." Spock nodded.

"Shall we be able to see our younger selves?" Spock inquired.

"But of course. How else would the experiment be a success? We have cameras surrounding them, ones that are invisible to both the naked eye, and to your most primitive technology. They shall give us constant visuals, and audio. But do not try anything."

"To 'try anything', as you say, would be illogical." A nod was the response, and the screen changed to a room inside the not-Enterprise. Four children were sprawled out on the floor. A sandy haired boy lay by the head of a dark headed Vulcan, while a young girl was to the side, a small brown haired child beside her, a distinctly Russian look about him. The Vulcan first began to stir, followed by the blond boy. Then was the Russian child, then the girl. All seemed quite confused, and all began freaking out.

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"What's going on! Where am I?" Screamed the blonde angrily, seemingly looking around for something to punch. The other children (except the Vulcan) also seemed to be freaking out. The girl was crying into her knees, the Russian boy was pale and pressed up against a wall, and even the Vulcan seemed quite disoriented and unsure of what to do with himself. This seemed to be what began to pull the blonde together. "Okay, who are you?"

"I am Spock."

"N-n-nyota."

"Pavel."

"Okay, I'm Jim. How did you guys get here?" Inwardly, Jim was still freaking out. And it showed on his face. But to Spock's amazement, he seemed to be controlling it. This was because he did not want to be freaking out like everyone else. Everyone but the Vulcan. But still, he would stay strong. He had to. And he would need help… uhh… the Vulcan, Spock, looked helpful. He shot a glance at the pointy eared child, and hoped his message would be communicated.

"It's alright guys, we'll be fine. I'm sure we'll get out of this, right?" Spock apparently got the message.

"It is highly probable that we shall be unharmed for the present." Technically this was true, as there was an incredibly low probability of death within the next few seconds. Spock's words, however, did not seem to greatly reassure anyone, they just looked kinda confused on top of everything else. Spock did not understand this, he had just said that there was little chance of their immediate death, yet they did not seem reassured. Illogical, that's what it was. Humans were supposed to be reassured by things like that, or so Spock was told. Silly humans. Thank science he was controlled by logic, unlike these strange creatures. Humans. Kirk shot Spock an annoyed look, then continued speaking.

"It'll be alright, guys. You hear what he just said? He said we're not in any danger."

'Actually, no,' Spock thought. 'I didn't. I said we wouldn't die immediately. And we didn't. I didn't say we weren't in danger.' Jim continued talking.

"We'll be fine. Now, look. All we have to do, is go around and explore. We'll find a communicator somewhere and then we can call our parents. I don't know what happened, but we'll get through it all right. I promise."

"B-but, I want to go home." Nyota said in a small voice, lower lip trembling. Jim walked forward, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You will, we all will. I know it. This is probably just some big mistake, and we just have to call home and get things sorted out. It'll be okay." Nyota nodded, and clenched her fists, gathering her courage. She wasn't about to let some boy do better than her. No, Nyota didn't let anyone do one up on her, and even if she was scared and had no idea what was going on, she wasn't about to fall down and cry. Been there, done that. She squared her shoulders, and looked Jim in the eye.

"I know. Now come on, we got a ship to search." She spun on her heel, and walked out the door, trying to calm her racing heart. She could break down when nobody would see, but she would not act like a scared little girl in front of them. Jim was calm, Spock was calmer, but she would beat them both. She would search this ship and find a communicator if it killed her and if anything tried to get in her way, it was going to regret messing with Nyota Uhura.

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Pavel was scared. He had been on his way to a math camp, when all of a sudden he'd been here, with this weird pointy eared kid, a girl who had the weirdest mood swings, and this blond guy, who was not from Russia, and seemed to be taking charge. Taking charge. This was good. Right now a leader sounded great, actually. "Ver, ver am I?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You wanna explore?" Apparently this boy was the leader. Okay.

"Exploring sound, good very! Zorry about Engish, not good."

"'S alright. You speak English better than I speak Russian." Pavel smiled shyly. He liked this boy. "Come on, Pavel, unless you want Nyota to find the communicators before we do."

"All vight!" The three boys set off down the hallways, which seemed deserted for some reason. Pavel was feeling better already. All they needed to do was contact home and things would be fine. Besides, he was from Russia! Whatever these guys could take, he could take better. And if there was danger, what the bad guys would get is the full force of Russia at their doorstep. Pavel had never been one to stay down long, and he wasn't planning on starting now. He was going to show the power of Russia to these kids, and acting like a scaredy cat wasn't going to help that one bit. He had a Vulcan to compete with, a Swahili, and an American. And Russia was going to top them all, no matter what. Except that Nyota was now coming back with a communicator in hand, so his display of Russian awesomeness was going to have to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kirk stared at the screen. It was a lot to digest, seeing your younger selves run about on the not- Enterprise, knowing that you were helpless to do anything to help them. Kirk hated being helpless.

"Fascinating." Came the voice of Vanadium, their captor. "Your younger selves are remarkably adaptable, they got over their panic remarkably quickly."

"Obviously." Kirk glowered. "We did grow up to be in starfleet, you know. We were children once too."

"Yes, it appears you were exceptional children, as well. The Vulcan was expected, but the rest of you! Captain, you took charge, showing leadership from a young age, Lieutenant Uhura was unwilling to seem inferior to males, Ensign Chekov was so confident in his country and his friends, eager to impress, that he was able to repress his fear. It probably helped, that they believed themselves to be out of danger, when that was certainly not the case. However, to help them, I think we shall release a gas into the room that shall calm them, and keep their heads at a more level state. It is not so much that it would calm anyone, in any circumstance, however, based on their current performance, it shall suffice. It is also long lasting, it shall not wear off for a long time, the more as they are exposed to it.

Also, I am now releasing their ship from orbit, it shall travel in it's predestined flight plan, or rather, captain, you younger selves shall be headed to Myterath, the very place where you were to go to try the Myterrians to join the Federation. We shall see what clues they uncover which we have left for them. It shall be fascinating. Shall we continue to watch?" They did, and continued to see.

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"So, boys, looks like I'm first."

"Ah, zu onze got lucky. Zumber two time I win."

"We'll see about that. You have your chance now, actually, I can't get this to work."

May I?" Spock held out his hand, and Nyota dropped it into his palm. She was all for her gender, but she wasn't stupid. She couldn't fix the thing, and she knew a thing or two about things that were used for communication. Might as well let the Vulcan have a try. Spock fiddled with the thing a bit, then gave his conclusion.

"I believe there to be something preventing this from broadcasting, perhaps a field of some kind. Truly fascinating."

"Well, then, let's see if there are any messages in these computers." Jim said, gesturing to the computers all about the room.

"A logical thought." Spock conceded, and proceeded to move to the computers and try and discern what to do to make it work. He managed to get what he believed to be the proper machine to start up, then was at a loss for what to do next. For some reason this technology was highly sophisticated. Nyota came up behind him.

"I think that if you push that red button there, then that green one there, then turn that dial to 14, then push the red button again, you can play back an holotape, and I think there's a holotape in there, 'cause that light is green over there." Spock raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You know more than I would expect of a human adolescent."

"I'm really into, well, talking stuff. I know a lot about communicators and things like that, and I know a bunch of different languages too, even some Vulcan.

"That is rare. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Nyota seemed a little shy at the praise, Vulcan's did not give compliments lightly. Spock took her advice, and a picture of a straight backed man appeared on a screen. The children gave it their strict attention.

"Captain" the image said. "It is imperative that you convince the Myterrians to join the federation. They're planet has extensive dilithium mines, along with several exports of valuable materials. Their strategic location also would be a great asset to the federation. You must convince them to align themselves with the Federation. If you do not, it shall be a heavy blow. Good luck." The image faded out, only to be replaced with the same man, speaking in a more urgent tone.

"I do not know who you are, or how you came to be here, but it is urgent that you complete the Enterprise's mission. If you cannot, we understand, but we believe the Ferengis to be advancing, with hopes of taking that planet. They are not close, we believe, but we still do not have time to dispatch a separate ship, the clearance process would be too long. You are our only hope."

The children stared at the now blank screen. Spock spoke first.

"Fascinating. Somehow the captain of this vessel must have become incapacitated."

"Well, we have to help!" Nyota piped up. "You heard him. We have to go!"

"Your statement is illogical. We have no way to do such a thing. We cannot hope to do such a thing. We must leave this ship, we cannot hope to pilot it by ourselves." Nyota sighed.

"Look, there's another tape. Let's play it." They did so.

"You are probably wondering how you shall pilot the Enterprise. If you choose to partake on this mission, then you may activate the androids." Spock raised an interested eyebrow. These droids are programmed to act as the positions you do not fill. You must be the bridge crew. There is already a helmsman, you need not do that. But there must be a captain, first officer, communications officer, science officer, and navigator. You may choose who among you best fills these positions. The droids cannot help you command, they do only what they are programmed to. The mechanics can repair the ship, the security team does hand to hand combat, and so on. You may activate them by use of the controller console. Good luck."

"Well then, there's your answer!" Nyota crowed triumphantly. "See?"

"I fail to see why the possibility of droids as crew should restore the vision I never lost, nor do I see why you think I have lost my vision in the first place. I assure you, I am perfectly fine."

"It's just an expression."

"Illogical."

"Look, guys." Jim cut in. "We have two options. Let these Ferengi guys take an important planet, or try and do things ourselves. We need to figure out what we're doing."

"Logical. I believe that there is no way to reach home, as of now. There is an ion storm behind us, and it appears to be quite large, according to this readout." Spock noted, observing the readout from some shiny silver machine.

"Zo ve can't geet back, an there's a vealy big missin somun needs to do?" Everyone took a second to process what the young Russian had said, then Jim replied.

"Yeah. We can't get back, and we're the only hope for this planet. We get there first, and we get the planet, the bad guys get there first, and they get the planet. Doesn't seem like much of a choice to me."

"But vat would we vealy do? Vey would come anyway!"

"Inaccurate, Pavel. The Ferengis would need clearance, in order to bypass the shield that encircles Myterriath. We could warn this race against them, and so save their planet. Our presence could prove vital to their way of life."

"Well, do we really have a choice?" Nyota questioned. "I mean, we can't leave, and they need us!"

"It would seem logical to go. All we would need to do is talk to these people, and they would have no reason to disbelieve us. It is relatively low risk, and we cannot abandon these people."

"He's right." Kirk noted. "We don't have a choice. People are counting on us."

"Vat we are just kids!"

"Yes, but we don't have a choice. People could die if we don't do this! We have to act now! I won't force anyone to come, but I hope you will. Who's with me?"

"I am." Spock affirmed. "I cannot allow possibly millions of innocent people to die. It would be illogical."

"I'm coming too." Nyota agreed. "I always wanted to help people, and Spock is right. We have to do something."

Well, Pavel wasn't about to back down now, shaming Russia to three other people, one of whom was only a girl. No, he was coming. "I vil come to. Vu may need me!"

"I know we will." Jim said, beaming. "So, Spock, activate those droids?" Spock firmly pressed a big red button on the control console. There was no going back.

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The four children were on the bridge, staring at the view screen. Apparently, they had been hurtling through space a while now, there was no way of knowing from where they had come. And now the immediate question was establishing a chain of command.

"I believe it to be obvious that I should be science officer." Spock stated. "I am, undeniably, the only one of us suited to that position."

"Yeah." Jim agreed.

"I'll do communications!" Nyota cheered. "I'm great with talking stuff, remember? And I know all those languages."

"Good plan, Jim approved. "What about navigator?"

"It must be someone with exceptional math skills." Spock informed them. "I am unused to this technology, but it seems to require much plotting of courses, and for that, at least until we disconcern how to operate this machine, many calculations must be done in a relatively short period of time, and whoever takes this post may as well keep it afterwards."

"I can do zat! I am a math genis, everyone zay zo! They not know what do with me."

"Then, Pavel, you may be our navigator. And Jim, there is only one choice for captain, and has been since the beginning."

"Spock, I can't do that! What about you?"

"I shall be too occupied with my scientific duties to lead in such a way. However, I would be honored to be your first officer."

"Spock, I…"

"You have already shown a remarkable capacity to lead. You must continue to do so."

"Well, alright. I'll do it." Spock nodded his approval.

"Then I pledge my allegiance to you, complete with the regular starfleet regulations for loyalty to a captain. Do you both do the same?"

"I do." Pavel said immediately.

"Well, okay." Nyota conceded. "But I reserve the right the deck you if you turn out to be a jerk."

"My lady, I would have it no other way. So, man your stations! We have Ferengis to thwart! Uhh, wait. Where are we going?" No one had thought of this.

"Well, captain, the recording said that we were to deal with the Myterrians. Myterrians live on Mytra, Myra, Myera, and Myterath. These are all in the Myerian system, so I suggest we head there. I shall further research which planet to head to." Jim nodded.

"Good." His head, really, was spinning, both from all the My words, and the fact that Spock had called him captain. Huh. Had a nice ring to it, really. He could get used to this. He wondered what he was supposed to do now. Nyota had a few ideas.

"Hey captain, you gonna get Spock a chair so he can actually use all these dodads?" Jim looked around. Indeed, Spock was not tall enough to actually use the instruments in the room. Hmm.

"Well, aren't there chairs in the dining room?"

"I believe, captain, that on a starship, it is called a 'mess hall'.

"Ah. Well, aren't there chairs there?"

"I do not know if they are capable of rolling. A maneuverable chair would be easiest to use. Shall we ask the helmsman?"

"Good plan. Uh, helmsman, are there moveable chairs in the mess hall."

"Affirmative."

"Okay then. Sooo, I guess I'll order some one to bring a swively chair up here.

"Do you mean a swivel chair, captain?"

"Yeah. Um, which one of these buttons calls people?" Nyota walked over.

"This one. And you're not exactly inspiring great confidence."

"Hey, I'm learning as I go along." He pressed the button, and ordered a swivel chair to be brought up to the bridge. Somehow he had a feeling this was an order that had not been given before. Wait a minute. "Uh, Spock?"

"Yes captain?"

"Will you be able to balance on that thing?"

"I believe so, captain; Vulcans are taught balance points, it should not be too difficult."

"Good."

"However, as of now, I shall retreat to the computer lab, it should prove easier to conduct my research."

"Of course… Mr Spock." Official sounding. Cool. Nyota and Pavel got special chairs, so that they could reach stuff without hurting themselves, but all in all things were great! Eventually the day finished, and they retreated to separate unused quarters, each contemplating this new life.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim awoke bright and early, jumping out of bed as he remembered all that had happened. He flew a comb through his tousled hair, and bolted out the door to the mess hall where they had agreed to meet. Spock and Pavel were there already, and seemed to be having a heated discussion about something. Jim walked up, and ordered pancakes with strawberry syrup. Yum. He ate beside his two new friends, then finished, and just talked. Nyota came up soon after, something in tow.

"Hey guys. I figured if we were going to be in starfleet we may as well look the part. I asked the computer for an evaluation of your measurements, and here we are!" Nyota lay her box on the floor, opened it, then began handing out uniforms. A golden shirt for Jim, a blue one for Spock, and another yellow one for Pavel. There was a dress at the bottom of the box, presumably for Nyota. "Get dressed, guys. There's a bathroom just down the hall. Let's see how we look." No one argued.

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"I love it!" Pavel exclaimed, spinning about.

Jim smiled, and placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest, obviously pleased with himself.

Nyota stepped forward on her toes, smiling down at her short dress, which made her look positively adorable. Even Spock seemed pleased, running his fingers over the warm material, which Nyota had thoughtfully had ordered extra warm in consideration of Spock's planet of origin. Jim, still grinning like a lunatic, strode forward. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Now shall we hit the bridge?" Spock looked at Jim as if he had grown a second head.

"It's just an expression." Nyota sighed, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward. "It means do we want to go to the bridge. And I do. Come on, boys. We got a planet to save."

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Unfortunately, planet saving was going to have to wait. Spock had managed to dredge up where they were supposed to go, (there was a curious lack of information aboard the ships computer, almost as if an expert wiping had gone over the vessel) but they still had a long way to go. It was going to be a long trip. Spock used this time to research, and everyone familiarised themselves with the technology. Spock also brought up a rather interesting point.

"Captain, it has occurred to me that we have no means of defending ourselves, if we were to leave the ship. It is logical that we carry weapons of some kind, for self defence. I believe myself to be fully capable of handling a phaser, perhaps even two, if I devote myself to sufficient practice. Are you in agreement?"

"That you can handle phasers? Yes. That we need weapons? Yes. That I can handle phasers? Maybe. Do you think I should try?"

"It would seem logical, captain." Jim inwardly noted that the whole 'captain' thing never got old, and was quite glad of the Vulcan's formality. It was fun. And it was also really hard to say no to anything the kid asked when he said 'captain' like that.

"All right then, I think I will. What about you guys?" Jim turned to the rest of their little foursome, and tilted his head, obviously expecting an answer.

Vell, I don't vite know how to vuse a phaser, vat I am a Vussian, I can learn. And vasers vere inveinted in Vussia, zo I have an advantage on vu all!"

"I do not believe that statement to be accurate, ensign. However, I see no point in debating the subject now. Lieutenant Uhura, is there anything you require?"

"A phaser is fine, but can you make it rapid fire? I think I could handle it if I practiced enough."

"Very well. In fact, I may attempt to increase the functionality of all our weapons. If you will excuse me captain, I shall get started." Jim nodded his consent, and Spock walked off the bridge.

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The children spent much off time in the gym now. Admittedly, there was not enough off time. Full time jobs were very tiring. Spock dealt with it pretty well, though, he was Vulcan, and the pressure was something he could deal with. Still, for the others it got old fast. Thankfully, the doctor found this out, and reduced their work so that they could deal with things. They were soon really enjoying themselves. Spock immersed himself in technical manuals, on top of doing what he believed his homework would have been on Vulcan. He said he could handle it. He was right too, he really enjoyed all this, though he wouldn't be caught dead saying it. Pavel was getting all sorts of math fun, especially with Spock, who was the one person who could actually understand and challenge him in the realm of math.

Nyota was loving the fact that she now had a good excuse to learn new languages. She also could now study Vulcan, which she had always wanted to do. There was also Ferengi and Russian to learn, and she had an opportunity to teach English to Pavel. He was doing better already, but he would always have that cute little accent, and Ny wouldn't have it any other way.

Jim was ecstatic at many things. He was a captain of a starship just like his dad! Granted, he wasn't officially a captain, but still! It was so cool. And even better, he had friends. He didn't really have friends before. Yes, he was friendly with many people, but not friends. Not really. And now… three new friends, all at once! Yes, he couldn't understand half of what one said, one was a girl, and one never smiled, or anything, but they were his friends anyway, and he would do anything for them. This was a new chapter in his life, and he wasn't going to let anything get in his way.

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They were fast approaching Myterath, stars streaming by in a hypnotising blur of elegant golden light. And then… they were there. The planet seemed to jump out of nowhere, filling the viewscreen in a vibrant congelation of greens and blues. Jim was pretty sure that is wasn't supposed to do that, come out of nothing, there was probably some feature that slowed things down, and regulated stuff, but he didn't know how to work that, and neither did Spock, and the view screen hadn't been necessary so far, so he hadn't really worked on it. But hey! They were on a mission now, and nothing was going to get in their way.

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Jim was taking Spock, Ny, and Pavel down to planet, after all, he didn't anticipate any problems, and he wasn't sure how the Myterrians would react to a bunch of computers coming down to their planet. It might freak them out. Also, he liked to keep his friends close. Who knew where the next Frank might come from? No, they were sticking together. And since they were, they couldn't bring any androids anyway: there was a landing party limit of 5, and no reason to push the limit. Spock had, after all, noted that bringing all 5 might seem like as much of a show of power as possible, no reason to take chances with new cultures. Bringing only four people was a way of showing trust. And trust was invaluable with this treaty stuff. And so down they went, unknowing that the Ferengis had sent someone ahead, and that someone had gotten there first.

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Rathingar smiled. Myterrith had been ridiculously easy to infiltrate. The Ferengis offer had been far too much to resist, and really, he held no love for the Federation anyway. Actually, he held no great love for anyone but himself. Life was about getting ahead, and if the Ferengis said go to Myterrath, deal with whoever the Federation sent, and ensure that the Ferengis were able to get there to engage their own 'negotiations', then if there was profet, well, why not. Rathingar stretched his long arms, already anticipating the welcome the Starfleet people would get when they arrived. Rathingar had managed to convince the Myterrian King that Starfleet would attempt to take them over and oppress them, and it had taken some doing, complete with forged records and lots of photoshop, but he had done it. He didn't know exactly who was coming, but it didn't matter. The Ferengis would be here any day now, then they would take over, and Rathingar would be well rewarded. His yellow eyes literally shown with anticipation. His hidden claws extended and retracted, cat like. Yes, this was wonderful. What could go wrong?

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Spock quickly took in his surroundings as they beamed down. Something was obviously wrong. The guards were all holding phasers, and looked quite hostile, and quite surprised. Probably at the youth of the children before them. There had been a small ion storm in the area, meaning that they could only send written messages back and forth. While that was quite sufficient for gaining clearance, and being assured of the safety and coordinates of the beam down, it had been rather ineffective regarding the showing of ages. They hadn't been able to give very detailed messages, mostly relying on Nyota and Spock's knowledge Morse code and long streams of numbers for coordinates and such. It had been relatively easy, however, to communicate, but the ages of the four of them would be a surprise. Even so, that did not explain the phasers. An escort would be likely, even mandatory, but this was certainly hostile. Spock's trained mind instantly ran through a series of possible explanations, a few were possible enough to consider. Spock was merely misinterpreting the situation. Unlikely. The positions and numbers of the guards would seem to counter that theory. The most plausible theory was that the Ferengis had arrived first, or had sent someone ahead to bias the Myterrians against Starfleet, and, consequently, against the children. All of this was realized in a manner of seconds, which everyone seemed to utilize to get over the human emotion of shock at the surprise with which they were faced. Jim spock first.

"What are you doing? We come in peace. We're supposed to make a treaty with you."

"We have been warned of you." The guard who seemed to be in charge stated, recovering from his surprise. "I admit, I did not expect children."

"Look, just because we're kids doesn't mean we can't do anything. And what do you mean: 'warned of us'? We're not here to hurt you!" Nyota's furious outburst was rewarded with a glare from Jim. With good reason: it had not been helpful.

"The King believes otherwise. You will come with us." Jim seemed to be on the verge of challenging the man, in what was surely a highly illogical and ineffectual action.

"Captain." Spock stated quietly. "I believe it to be in our best interests to go along with them." Jim, thankfully, nodded, and stepped forward, squaring his shoulders, leading the way for his three crewchildren. This was good. A captain should show bravery. It was mostly good for Pavel, who looked terrified. Spock allowed his pace to slow slightly, so that he was walking beside Pavel. The boy was shaking, undoubtedly this was worse for him then the rest of them. Spock wondered what to do to comfort the child. Comforting humans was not precisely his area of expertise, he was not sure how it was done. But he had to do something. In this state Pavel would be most inefficient in any task he attempted, from basic imaginary numbers to an escape attempt. It was only logical to attempt to calm him. But how? Then something struck him. He needed only to attempt to copy what his mother did when she believed he needed comforting. "It will be alright." He said softly. Pavel's head jerked up, eyes looking straight into Spock's. Spock remembered that humans needed some sort of steady confident guidance, a role model. He would attempt this. "We shall escape, I am sure. It may not even be necessary, they are surprised by our age. If we can convince them that we are not a threat, then they shall not take us seriously, perhaps even free us. You must do your best to seem harmless. Tell Uhura the same." Giving the boy something to do would keep his mind from his fear, and he could see the child was already calmer. The boy trusted him, that much was obvious. He wished to live up to Spock, all of them, really. He would try to prove himself, but Spock must be careful not to allow him to attempt to undertake more than he was capable of handling. Spock heard Pavel whispering to Nyota, and he himself moved up to relay his plan to Jim. Their captors were busy speaking amongst themselves, probably utilizing the headsets they wore, which had unfolded to cover their entire faces. Spock looked ahead of him, he had fallen behind the captain as was protocol, however he did wish to remember these hallways, in case an escape was needed, it could be useful. Soon, however, they reached their destination, a double doored room, the doors were shut. Spock knew from the designs on the doors that this was probably the throne room. They were going to see the king.

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King Leranindale stared at the door. He was about to have the starfleet villeins brought before him, and then justice would be served. They had been warned of these vile creatures. They came to destroy, yet would only be destroyed themselves. Hoyahey! This would be glorious.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

All in the King's court looked anxiously upon the door. This was it. The big moment. Rathingar was beside the King, he was to be rewarded for saving Myterrath. This was it. The starfleet scum would die, they would pay for their treachery and malice. And then the doors opened... and three children were shoved inside. Everyone stared. The guards had come in behind the kids, helmets down, of course, as they were in the presence of a king.

"Hinart. What is this? Why have you brought children?" The King demanded of his chief guard.

"This is who beamed down. They have sent children."

"Obvioussly, oh King, they have sent adolecentss in the hope of luuring you into a false ssense of ssecurity." Rathingars hissing eses and purring ues were slightly worried. Leranindale stared at the children. The very little boy seemed incredibly scared, one was a girl in a dress, and the other two were holding together much better, however, the brown haired boy's eyes showed fear, and the pointy eared one… well who knew about him. But really. Treacherous spies. Rathingar was obviously mistaken. Leanindale gave out a loud laugh.

"Rathingar, are these your tratores? Children? You must be mistaken. One does not send children for a take over. And look, there are four of them. They do not send down all they can! And a girl! One does not send females into war!" Nyota looked offended at this, but thankfully knew enough to keep quiet. "These children have given us no reason for mistrust. Rathingar, you said you left a long time ago. Perhaps things have changed since then, perhaps you are the the true enemy. Either way, these are our guests! Stand." The last word was an echoing command to the children before him, who did indeed stand, and Jim began to talk.

"Thank you for your courtesy." he began diplomatically (and because it was what Spock had told him to say). "We mean you no harm; we come in peace, in hope of accepting you into the Federation, or at least to secure a treaty between our two peoples."

"'Tis a fine speech you give. But among other things, I must ask of the meaning of our peoples two. I know not much of your Earth world, but your raven haired friend has not the look of a human."

"He is Vulcan. They are also part of the Federation, and so in that way, we are of the same people."

"Your words are fine tuned for one so young. Have thou memorized this speech?"

"I have prepared some of this. But some of it is simply hoping I do not accidentally insult your highness, or inadvertently challenge someone to a duel!" Jim had learned a lot of words from Spock so that he could give this speech.

"You words are truth and truth is all." The king stated grandly, in what was probably some kind of common phrase around here. "Shall we discuss joining the Federation?"

"Thank you, your highness. I'm… uh honored. However, first may we discuss the reasoning behind our capture? I would hate for there to be another... miscommunication." Jim was feeling very uncomfortable by this point. Formality was the absolute worst!

"Your suggestion is good. I had wished to speak of this to you without your followers hearing. However, if you wish, we may discuss this now."

"That sounds good to me. Whatever you can say to me you can to them. Unless it's top secret."

"It is not, however it is of great importance."

"On Earth we have a saying: "6 heads are better than two". Perhaps they can help."

"Very well. Do these pictures look familiar to you?" Leranindale handed Jim some pictures. Rathingar looked very worried. Those were some of the photoshopped pictures he had used to promote Starfleet's evility. Yet, there was nothing he could do now. Jim looked shocked at the pictures, and his eyes took on a kind of fire.

"No! Who is doing that?"

"I was told Starfleet."

"Starfleet has never done anything like that! Whoever told you that was lying." Jim handed the pictures to Spock. "Look, has Starfleet done anything like this?" Spock's eyes widened somewhat at the pictures, and he shifted to prevent Pavel from seeing the pictures.

"They most certainly have not. Also, observe the malplacement of the Klingons head. If this was an actual fact, it would be slightly to the left, that position is unnatural. In this picture the skin tone is slightly inconsistent, and in this the flag is missing one of the lines." Spock pointed these things out to the king, finger highlighting each mistake, and Leranindale looked furious.

"Rathingar! What say you of this?"

"Everyone ssurrender." Rathingar whipped out a small device from his cloak. "If thiss goess off, everyone diess." Leranindale gasped, horrified.

"What? How? You must know you cannot simply take over. There is an entire placed of guards here."

"And an entire army of Ferengi are coming. I have word they shall be here in less than half an hour. No, no, don't rushh me, Hinart. Thiss iss mentaly activated and incredibly boobytrapped. You would only kill your king. I do admit, young oness, you have inconveniencssed me greatly. I had planned for them to open the gate for mee, after all, there's that pessky little cleearance issue. But I think we can overcome that with the convenieent little controll panelll in here. Yesss?" 

"You monster!" Leranindale spat. "You shall pay for your treachery."

"I think not. Thiss has been planned more carefullee than you can imagine. There iss nothing you can do. Now, open the gate!"

"NO! I shall not."

"What do you theeink you accomplissh by your refussal? I can do it jusst ass well ass you."

"Well, you shall have to prove it."

"Your ressisstancess iss notable, but misssplaced." Rathingar's forked tongue darted in and out at the hissing eses, and his eyes narrowed. "It would only ssave me time and trouble for you to agreee, I can eeasily do it myself." Rathingar walked over to the wall, and pressed his hand to what must have been a hidden button, causing a hidden panel to flip out. "And jusst in casse you were wondering, I am sstill defended, and any… misbehaviour on your part will kill the king. But not mee, beecause I am wearing protection, so it iss no use trying any… last minute heroicss." Jim gritted his teeth and balled his fists.

"The king is right. You won't get away with this!"

"Yes I wiiilll." Said Rathingar is a sing-songy voice. "In fact, I already havve." The console lights flashed where he had pressed some of the buttons, and a electronic voice did a fantastic job of informing them that the shield was down.

"You aren't free yet!" Jim cried. "You're stuck here just like we are. They'll kill you, if the Federation doesn't catch you and throw you in jail first."

"I don't thiink so. You see, they may need me later, my… sskillss may come in haandy. I'll be fiine. But thaank you for your conssern." Suddenly, a collection of yellow spots began formulating in the room, turning first to the shape of a person, then to, definitely, to Ferengis.

"Ranthingar. You have done well. Who are these?" The Ferengi who appeared in charge gestured to the children.

"For ssome unfathhomable resson, Captain Mikar, Sstarfleet ssent thesse children to ssecure the treeaty. Do you know whyy?"

"No, but they may be useful later. Put them in holding cells. We've beamed down our people. These people are remarkably primitive. Still in the age of knights and saints. We should have control soon. It will not be long now."

"You are mad!" Leranindale gasped. "There are many guards here. You cannot slay them all!"

"We are not slaying yet. However, we have technology you cannot even begin to imagine. You have some technology here, but not much. We have things that will locate the life forms that hide. We have long range weapons, weapons of such great destruction that they could annihilate this whole castle." 

"I do not believe this!"

"You would be wise to do so." Spock said quietly. "He speaks the truth." Leranindale breathed in deeply, apparently severely oxygen deprived.

"What do you have to gain from this? As you say, we have no technology, you could not need us!"

"I think not. You see, your planet here is rich in dilithium crystals. And those, make this worth the while. Hikaree." One of the other Ferengis stepped forward. "Take them now. You have seen the plans of this castle, you know where the holding cells are. Take these… children there. Leave them there for a few days. That will make them more cooperative. Destroy any resistance, you may encounter." Jim didn't notice much after that, because he was too busy looking wide eyed at Spock for a plan.

"We must go with them, captain. Lieutenant, Mr Chekov." The two turned to face him. Spock knew he had to be brief, Mikar was occupied with details of their imprisonment for now, but he would not be long. "When they place us in the holding units we must escape. Take care not to be seen. We must attempt to reunite in the room behind the mess hall. It should be unoccupied. You know where it is, for there are signs pointing the way throughout the castle." That was all the planning they had time for, as Hikaree began to march them off at phaser point.

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Jim looked about him, inside his cell. He had been separated from his friends, he could only assume they were all in separate cells. His cell had a window, and a table and bed. But how could he use those things to escape? Jim knelt down and studied the lock. And then he discovered something. It was one of those really old locks, he was pretty sure he could jimmy the lock open! He reached for the pocket knife he always carried with him, infinitely glad it had not been discovered. He opened the lock picking mechanism, (he had managed to get that especially made, and it had been hard to convince Josh to change it up, but he had in the end) and pried the lock open. Victory. Quickly he slipped out the door, really glad there was a handle on this side, probably for the guard in case there was one to be guarding the prisoner, and entered the hallway. Since there was so little technology on this planet, there were no cameras, so that was one less thing to worry about. Jim was very pointedly pushing his fear aside, he had a crew to save. He scurried through the hallways, keeping to the walls. Footsteps. Oh no. There was nowhere to hide. The footsteps came closer. Two of them. They were talking, and were definitely Ferengi. Oh no. Jim franticly looked about, there. A tapestry. He darted behind it, and prayed the guards wouldn't notice his feet. They came closer. He could make out their conversation now.

"This has been one of the easiest take overs I have been on. They have no way to stop us!"

"That is correct. It would be much simpler if all our missions were this simple."

"Still though, one got Mycor. He is dead! It makes me want to destroy them all!" The Ferengi grabbed the nearest tapestry, and pulled it down, then ripped it in half. Then he reached for the one Jim was hiding behind. Jim could hear him, and pressed himself against the wall as far as possible.

"You must stop! It is unbefitting of you to throw such childish fits." The hand closed in one the tapestry, anyway, then paused. Jim held his breath.

"Fine." The hand withdrew. "Let us depart. We must report now." His friend nodded, and they went off. Jim slid down the wall in pure relief. And now, to the mess hall, and beyond!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Spock observed his surroundings, escape was obviously mandatory, however it should prove most difficult. The door was locked, and he was unsure of how he could exit the room in which he currently found himself ensnared. He had been the last one to be placed in a cell, and apparently they found him to be the greatest threat, as he was the only one they had given a guard to. This was interesting, as the guards were quite occupied with chasing down the remaining guards and 'ensuring the peace'. They must really be worried about Vulcans. But that knowledge had no usefulness disconcerting a method of escape. Spock began to pace. He did not handle small confines well, or at least not on the inside. He suspected he may have claustrophobia, but would certainly never admit to it. Such fears were illogical. That was why they called it claustrophobia. What was he thinking? Spock shook his head to clear it. He'd already felt over the walls several times, if he was honest with himself he was being illogical and just didn't do well with captivity. This was a logical assumption, as Vulcans were quite active in general, he supposed this might be one of the side effects. Wait. Vulcans. The mind meld. Perhaps he could use it to escape. He began to rub his hands together. This would be most difficult, as he was unaccustomed to performing mind melds; they were generally only performed by adults. However, there was nothing he could do about that irrelevant fact as of the present. Spock walked over to the wall, where the guard was closest to. He was forced to wait a short amount of time, because a pair of Ferengis passed by, however they were soon gone, and Spock began the connection of two minds. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts." It wasn't long. Slowly the door opened, and Spock, expending more telepathic energy than ever before, managed to erase this memory completely from the Ferengi's mind. He slipped away, then slid down a wall behind a pillar, exhausted. He'd never done anything remotely close to this before. But he had to go. He forced himself to his feet and began to run.

Spock was making good, time; there were not many Ferengis nearby, and even when there were, he could take cover behind something. But then. He could hear a sole Ferengi coming down the hall. A sole Ferengi was enough. He couldn't attack him, there was nowhere to hide the body. There was nowhere to hide Spock either, and that was the problem. Spock looked about, definitely not scared, because Vulcans didn't get scared, but he did need to leave now… he was in an empty hallway, with only a series of open windows lining the walls. The windows. They were the method of escape he would use. He ran to one, and lowered his body outside. He was a long way up, and Vulcan or not, a fall from this height would be fatal. He held on tight, feeling the wind pushing against his body. The Ferengi seemed interested in something outside. He looked out the window directly beside Spock. Spock held his breath, even though it was illogical. The Ferengi seemed to lose his fascination with whatever it was he had seen, and turned away. He walked away, and Spock gasped for air. The boy managed to scramble back inside, and sat piled against the wall for a bit, regaining his strength, then pulled himself to his feet. It was, after all, imperative that he keep moving.

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Nyota looked about her cell furiously. Oh, what she would give to have one of those slimy, cowardly, worthless, Ferengis in here now, she'd give him something to think about, that was for sure. Oh, Nyota would escape. There was no doubt about that. She'd show them a thing or two. She'd escape, and she'd do it with something, a momento. She scanned the cell she was in for anything that might be useful. Apparently the Ferengis thought her helpless because she was a girl. There was a bed, a table, and some chairs. There was even a tricorder on the table. She picked it up, and tried not to think about Pavel. She had been the second one to be dropped off, and the poor boy had looked terrified. He was having this harder than any of them. She would be strong for him. The kid reminded her of her own little brother. Who, by the way, she was totally getting back to after all this. Nyota picked up the tricorder. She fiddled about with it. It was quite advanced, but some looking about at it's innards it proved to be quite useful. She messed with a few wires (Spock had showed her a thing or two, the Vulcan was really good at stuff like that, and kinda fun to be with too, even if he was kind of bad at emotions and such. He was also sorta cute…) Nyota stopped those thoughts then and there. She just moved about a few wires, and then messed with some buttons. The tricorder made some weird sounds, and she placed it to the door. She then twisted a few dials. In theory, this could unlock the door, she only had to find the correct frequency. She'd done this at home, though not with a tricorder. Thankfully, the door was electronically sealed, it was the only one that was, so far as she'd seen. Probably they'd thought that out of the four of them she would know the least about how to get out of such situations. Nyota scowled, then rethought things. If males were all such idiots, then she could really use this to her advantage. She twisted the dial one more time, and with a whirr the door popped open. Bingo. Nyota raced through the hallway, and followed, as Spock had said, the signs pointing to the mess hall. Apparently eating was really important here. Nyota saw the final passageway. So proclaimed a sign pointing down the corridor. There was a complication, though. While the way had been lined with pillars, meaning she could easily duck behind them when needed, she had been moving slowly, so that she did not accidently run into someone. As it turned out, this was what saved her. She peeked around a corner, loose hair falling over her shoulder, and saw a small group of Ferengis standing there. Uh oh. Nyota bit her lip. How to get them to move? She was pretty sure they were there because the door they were in front of was labeled: FOOD SUPPLIES. The Ferengis wouldn't waste time in the mess hall, not in the middle of a takeover, but they would fill packs with food and carry those with them. Nyota pressed her back against the wall. Her and a tricorder versus a bunch of full grown Ferengis. Well, that, and the knife she had hidden in her boot, and the small fold up short range communicater she also had hidden. What could she say? She came prepared. But was she prepared enough, that was the question. She reached down, and fingered the communicater. This had better work. She flipped it on, grateful that these were silent. She and Spock had worked on them in some free time. It had been a lot of fun, and a welcome distraction. As fun as the whole Starship thing was, it was also kinda scary. But Nyota would not be intimidated. No, if the universe expected Nyota Uhura to give up and give in, the universe was going to be surprised. As Einstein had said, "Courage is not acting in the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of it." Nyota fingered the silvery device, biting her lip. This was it. She readied her voice, grateful that she could so easily imitate others. The silent communicater flickered to life.

"This is commander Hikare. One of the Myterrians have informed us that there is kalish in one of the draws of the supply room. Investigate to ascertain if this is the truth, then nearly all of us will suffer an allergic reaction to it, and that cannot be permitted."

"Yes sir."

"Report to me with your findings."

"Yes sir." Nyota watched as the Ferengis walked into the room. She instantly slipped through the door, glad it was not one of the more modern automatic ones. It was quieter this way. She walked away from the door a bit, and waited. Sure enough, soon the Ferengi was informing her that the Myterrian must have lied, there was no kalish to be found. Nyota silently congratulated herself on hacking into his comlink so she would intercept his call, and dismissed the Ferengi. There was nothing in between her and the mess hall now.

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Pavel was scared, Russian or no. He was away from his friends, and alone. His cell had only a small mat on the floor, and some sort of shoulder bag full of smooth, painted, rocks. He surmised that the rocks were for decoration. There were several such bags throughout the castle. Pavel slung the bag over his shoulder. It made him feel better, even if that was... illogical. It was better to be armed. Pavel eyed the door. He kicked at it, to no avail. The boy slid down the door, angry. There had to be a way out of this! He didn't know how to open the door, however, he had no idea! And what was he good at? He was a good pitcher in baseball, he was great at math, and he could distract his mother while his friend, Artyom, grabbed the cookies, but that was about it. Wait. The cookies. Distraction. A sly smile grew over the young boy's face. He had to make them come in here, then, if he could distract them, they might forget to lock the door. But how to get them in here? Pavel remembered something Spock had said about Ferengis. They didn't do well with high pitched noises. Because they were so sensitive to sound. Pavel scanned the room, then a light bulb went off. He took one of the rocks, and grated it against the wall. The ritherum florin of the wall did not like the rock. The wall screamed out a high pitched grating sound, that hurt even Pavel's ears. It didn't take long for a Ferengi to wrench open the door.

"Cease that noise! If you resume, you will be punished." Ok, part one of the plan was good…

"Vat noise? I am only bored!"

"You know what I speak of. Cease."

"Vy, pointy ears? I don't take orders vrom you!"

"You will if you know what's good for you."

"Vou mean Prague Cake?"

"Insolent little…"

"Vat, mad?" The Ferengi took a few steps forward. "Vou vould not hit ve. Vou vould get into too much trouble." The Ferengi spun on his heel, and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind him. Pavel rushed forward, and grabbed the knob with both hands, holding it as tightly as he could. He heard the Ferengi mutter, wondering if he had locked the door. Pavel gripped the knob harder. The Ferengi quickly twisted at the knob, and Pavel barely managed to hold it steady, glad the man was trying to control his strength so much that he used less force than he normally would have. The Ferengi, apparently satisfied, walked away. Pavel was free.

Pavel rushed through the hallways, keeping to the walls and ducking for cover. He was free! For Russia!

Pavel was making good time, until he came to the garden. He had to make it past, but there was a Ferengi there, checking the plants for any hiding Myterrians. Pavel hid behind a bush, and wondered what to do now. There had to be something. He stared murderously at the innocent bunny creature on the far side of the room. Wait. The bunny. Pavel took a dully colored rock from the pouch at his side. He took careful aim, silently glad he played baseball, and threw. The rock made a nice clatter, and the Ferengi dashed over. Pavel ran as fast as he could across the room, and hid behind a tree thing as the Ferengi made an exasperated noise at the bunny, and went back to checking plants. As he turned away, Pavel dashed off. For Russia.

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Jim looked about anxiously. He'd made it, but had the others? Just then, Nyota came sprinting around the corner.

"Captain. Looks like you made it. The others?"

"I don't know yet."

"I suppose this makes three of us. Is Pavel not yet here?"

"Spock! Good to see you. Are you two alright?"

"I am fully functional."

"I'm fine. Have you seen Pavel?"

"No."

"I have not."

"Et's alright! I'm fine."

"Pavel!" Nyota exclaimed.

"Well, now that we're all here, I think we need a plan. Mr Spock?"

"Indeed, captain." At these words, everyone jumped to attention, reminded of the severity of their situation. "I believe, that if we can in some way render all the Ferengis helpless, if only for a brief period of time, and reenact the shield, then we may yet save Myterriath."

"Sounds good to me," Nyota cut in, "but how are we going to do that? We have no weapon that could do anything like that, and how would we deal with the Ferengis outside Myterriath?"

"Vell, maybe ve could zend them into hyperbase."

"Hyperspace, Pavel." Nyota reminded. Spock inclined his head in agreement.

"Indeed, but Mr. Chekhov's plan is worth noting. As for lacking a long range weapon, we have sound. Nyota, if we can get you onto the main speakers, do you believe you can produce a sound with the proper pitch to render the Ferengis helpless?"

"Yes sir!"

"Very good, Lieutenant. Once that is accomplished, I may be able to render the Ferengis here helpless, provided, I am given the rythiloid serum."

"The what?" Jim's confusion was clearly shown in the faces of his small crew.

"The rythiloid serum. In Vulcan anatomy, it greatly increases our natural telepathic abilities. This planet happens to be quite rich in rythiliod. As for other species it is simply a healthy yet incredibly expensive and rare topping for food, it is likely that we shall be able to acquire some. After such a point, I should be able to place the Ferengis into a deep sleep."

"Well that takes care of that part of the plan, but how will we find them all?"

"I overheard some of the Ferengis complaining about being confined to the castle. It appears there is some sort of force field around the castle which they are unable to penetrate. Perhaps we shall be able to alter the force field so that it is possible to enter, simply not to leave."

"Alright, Mr Spock." Jim said focusedly. That takes care of the Ferengis here. What about the ones in space? How do we force them into hyperspace?"

"And von't ze Fungi see ve're not zere?"

"The Ferengis will not notice our absence until it is too late, Mr Chekov. They were attempting to starve us, if you will remember. The walls of the castle will prevent their scanning into separate rooms, that is why they must scan rooms separately or leave doors open. Assuming we all remembered to shut the doors, we should remain undetected." Spock scanned the group quickly, obviously waiting for someone to confess to leaving the door open, if such a thing had occurred. No one spoke, however, and the Vulcan continued. "As for forcing the Ferengis into hyperspace, that is the difficult part. However, I believe we can utilize the shield surrounding this planet to create a rather complex reaction that should, in essence, catapult the Ferengis far from here. Once that is accomplished, they will not be able to once more break in: they will not gain clearance."

"Zu have zis planned out very!" Nyota shot Pavel a meaningful look. "Very planned." the young Russian corrected, obviously remembering previous english lessons with the young lieutenant.

"I have been composing this plan ever since we were captured. Also, we must hurry. For now, the Enterprise should be safe, as she should be out of visual range of the Ferengis, and as they are both moving, then they should not come into contact with each other for an extended period of time, and the Enterprise has the cloaking devices we designed on board, however, it is highly probable that soon visual contact may be enacted, and that the cloaking devices we designed will malfunction, after all, they are not highly sophisticated." This was met by solemn nods, and a few comments before the little group moved on.


	6. Chapter 6

Spock hoped his face was blank. He was scared. He was, after all, the only one of them who could come up with a plan to get them out of this situation, and if one of them died, it would be his fault. This was the first time he'd actually had a friend, aside from I-Chaya, but he was only a sehlat. This was real. And if they died… the others would hate him. And it would be logical, as they were humans, to hate him for all but killing one of them. Spock didn't know if he could take that. If anyone died, it would be him. He'd make sure of that.

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The first order of business was to get that rythiliod. Nyota took the group to the food supplies room, which, thankfully, was cleared now. Spock looked about, then walked over to a part of the wall which had a painting of some sort of warrior on it, then pressed the tip of the spear in the man's hand. A drawer opened, and many bottles of several different things were exposed, including rythiloid.

"These are some of the rare spices and oils. They are reserved for royalty, that is why they are hidden." Spock informed everyone.

"You found them easily enough." Nyota noted, looking around Spock at the bottles.

"I did extensive research on Myterriath; I know many things about it, including common hiding places."

"You'd think it would be harder to find information on stuff like that." Jim pointed out, leaning against a wall.

"It was not an easy search. Pavel! Do not take anything." Spock inwardly berated himself on the worry and use of Pavel's first name. Pavel simply wondered why he could have food.

"But zir, I am humpy!"

"Hungry." Nyota corrected.

"It does not matter if you are hungry. We cannot risk our presence being discovered, and they may notice missing food."

"Yes zir."

"Alright, now we need to get to the intercom system." Jim said authoritatively. "Spock, you said you knew the way?"

"Indeed. I came across a map in one of the hallways, and thought it prudent to memorize it."

"Very well then, lead on." Jim wondered if the others could see through him. He had to be brave for them, he was the captain after all, but really, he was terrified. He thought of Frank. 'If I can take him, I can take this.' he thought desperately, knowing he was only lying to himself. Then Spock turned to him, and looked into his eyes.

"Captain, I suggest you bring up the rear, in case we happen to run into any hostiles. We may need you to cover the back, as the two of us are the only ones here who know how to handle phasers and I must lead." Jim nodded, and fell in line. And then he realized something. He wasn't alone. The others were here with him. They would take this together, and together, they could do anything.

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The door to the intercom room was directly ahead. Spock held the hypo of rythiloid to his arm. He'd had to wait for the moment when the Ferengis were incapacitated, as the serum wore off quickly, and it was very hard to remain in control while it was in effect. The doors burst open, and Nyota and Jim burst in. Five Ferengis turned about, shock written over their faces. Jim's phaser made short work of the first one, and Nyota managed to blast two in quick succession. The remaining three wisely attacked from three directions. Jim phasered one, Nyota hit another, but the third let off a blast towards Jim. Pavel had lept at Jim's legs, though, so the shot missed, and Nyota wiped out the last one. Panting, Jim pulled himself to his feet.

"Th-thanks for the save."

"No probvem, keptin. All in ze ray of duty."

"If you're going to quote movies, try and get them right, Pav." Nyota said, grinning with relief. "It's the line of duty."

"I like vaes more. And eet makes more sense. I have not been in ze line of duty forever!"

"I would suggest that you made haste and activated that soundwave. As you may remember, when improperly stored, this solution becomes acidic." Spock innd

"Right sir," Nyota said, snapping to attention. "Sorry." The Swahili girl rushed to the console, and soundproofed the room. The castle was nearly the only place with real technology, and even that was reserved to a few rooms and the shield and sound system, and a few other systems. Myterrians didn't focus on tech explosions, but on improving certain areas, and their technology was specifically altered to fit such requirements. Nyota was grateful that communication had been deemed necessary, and she made short work of pressing the necessary buttons and such. Outside the room, an earsplitting screech split the air, and the Ferengi's shields, for the moment, shattered. Spock injected the serum into his arm, and immediately staggered backward into a console for support. He gasped, and tried desperately to focus his mind. Pain was of the mind, the mind could be controlled. With a cry of pain, he forced away the pain (this really was unhealthy, but he didn't care) and focused. He reached into the minds of every Ferengi in the castle, and managed to send them into a sleep that would last for at least a week. Then he collapsed, his mind screaming, the effects of the rythiloid already wearing off, leaving his mind in tatters. Spock crumpled into Jim's arms, and was laid down gently, even as Nyota and Pavel feverishly worked at the force field systems. Finally Pavel gave a joyous shout, and something made an audible clicking sound. There was a great whirring, and Nyota signaled for them all to be quiet. She motioned for Jim to now speak. Obviously there were many people outside the castle, many armies had gathered about, attempting to break through the shield. Spock had seen them as he'd run along, as had Jim. Jim would now address these people using the now amplified microphone that had been part of what Nyota and Pavel had been working on. Jim took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Greetings, Myterrians. We're from Starfleet, and we have overthrown the castle. At present all the Ferengis, uh, they were the guys who took over they're all unconscious, and they will be for a long time. You can come in for now, but you can't go out, and neither can the Ferengis. We're going to need your help to get all the Ferengis in jail, or whatever you have here. Send people in, but remember you can't come out yet, you'll be able to later. So… come in!" Jim signaled for Nyota to cut the connection, and went back to Spock, who had still not awoken. He was aware that he probably hadn't phrased that right, but he was more worried about Spock at the moment than he was about things like politeness. Jim knelt by Spock's side, and pulled the boy's head into his lap. What if Spock didn't wake up? It had been too much to ask, telling a 12 year old kid to try and take over a whole castle, no matter how strong that serum thingy was. If Spock didn't wake up, it would all be Jim's fault. Jim bit his lip and tried to reign in his emotions. He was not going to cry in front of his crew, no matter what. Nyota knelt by Spock's side, and took one limp hand into her own. She put two fingers to the boy's wrist, and felt for a pulse. It was there, erratic, but there. Pavel knelt by the three of them, worry etched all over his face.

"Iz he, iz he…"

"He'll live for now, but we need to do something." Nyota informed them. She tried to quell the fear rising up inside her. If Spock died… Well, she definitely couldn't ignore that she had a starship sized crush on the Vulcan. She clenched her hands in her uniform, not trusting herself not to reach out and run her fingers over that pale face. There had to be something they could do though. Had to be. Jim had said before he didn't believe in no win situations, and Nyota agreed. She racked her brain for everything Spock had told her about Vulcans. "We need to keep him warm. Is there anything we can use to heat him up?" Pavel's eyes lit up.

"Da! I think I saw a kamin down de hall a beet."

"A what?" Jim had no idea what a kamin was, and looked to Nyota for help.

"That's Russian for fireplace. Come on, we need to carry him." Jim and Nyota carried Spock (who was much heavier than he looked) while Pavel led the way.

"Vite here!" There was indeed a fireplace, but not blazing as Jim and Nyota had hoped.

"Well, how do we light it?" Nyota demanded. The instrument for lighting the fire seemed to be broken, perhaps it had been stepped on. Pavel didn't seem worried, however.

"I have rocks!" True to his word, Pavel pulled the satchel from over his shoulder, and produced two rocks. This was his big chance! He would prove the strength of Russia now, even if it was only a kinda little thing. Still though, if it saved Spock (whom Pavel had already begun to think of as the big brother he'd never had) then it was big. Pavel started rubbing the rocks together. "Eet geets very freeze in Russia, so ve know how to make fire!" Sure enough, sparks began to form almost instantly. Soon the fire was roaring, and Spock was waking up.

"Spock!" Jim and Nyota exclaimed at once, Pavel's outburst not far behind. "You're alright!"

"Yes... captain. Might I… inquire as to my… surroundings?" Spock would have said more, but Nyota but him off.

"You're in a hallway by a fire. A little bit ago, you were out cold, but Pavel started a fire, and the heat seemed to help. Don't talk, you need to rest."

"My condition is far less dire than you believe." Spock informed them, completely ignoring Nyota's advice. "I am already recovering. Undoubtedly I was never in mortal danger; I simply entered a meditative like state in which my bodily functions slowed down dramatically. The heat, however, was an excellent idea. It proved the catalyst which brought me back. You have my thanks." Pavel beamed. "But might I inquire as to our continued presence? At present, we must force that starship into hyperspace."

"We were just making sure you were going to be okay, Spock." Jim said, a huge grin on his face, in relief as to Spock's wellbeing. "Besides, you're the only one of us who can actually pull this off."

"Very well, captain. However we must hurry, or the Enterprise may be destroyed." Jim seemed quite distressed at this.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry. Come on!"


	7. Chapter 7

The intrepid friends dashed through the halls, never stopping to talk to some of the soldiers that had entered the castle. In fact, they never really had the chance to without making any detours. And Jim knew that none of the soldiers would be helpful. None of them had the technical knowledge necessary for this. Even Jim, the least techy of the four, would be more helpful than they would. They soon reached the correct room, and Spock immediately kicked down the solid wooden door, looking much like some hero from some action film. Jim tried hard not to look to impressed. The young Vulcan dashed to the control panel, and began working feverishly, as Nyota and Pavel tried to do something helpful, and Jim tried to stay out of the way.

"This isn't working!" Nyota cried. "It's too much power, the circuits are overloading!"

"We have no choice, Lieutenant. We cannot defeat the Ferengis that will beam up should we not throw them away!"

"Overenergy in panels 3 and 4!" Pavel warned.

"Panels 7 and 9 are failing!" Nyota cried. Spock continued to work, zipping back and forth, not even wincing when he burned his hand on one of the smoking panels. Spock flipped switches to stop the smoke and the reboot the panels, but he seemed to be fighting a losing battle.

"Panel 5 down, panel three overloading."

"Panel 3 back, Panel 11 overloading."

"Panels 8 and 15 down." 

And then it happened. The warning lights that had been flashing made way for a screaming wail. Red lights flared, alarms announced that the room was going to explode. And still Spock worked. All of this had taken place in 10 minutes, and they didn't have long left.

"Spock, give it up!" Jim screamed. "We'll find another way!"

"There is none." Spock jumped to reach a bright green button. "However you three need to leave. Keep the doors open, I may need to jump to safety, and there is nothing you can do here anymore." Jim was torn. To leave would be like abandonment but… he had to protect his crew, and there was nothing he could do.

"He's right, get back." The three children backed out of the room, and Pavel locked the doors open. Spock worked all the harder. Then came the automated warning system announcing doom.

"DESTRUCTION WILL RESULT IN 10, 9, 8, 7."

"Spock hurry!" Jim screamed. The viewing screen showing the Ferengi starship fractured, wavered. Spock worked on.

"6, 5, 4"

Spock flipped up a whole new panel that had been before hidden, and began activating those.

"3, 2" Spock was going to die. That was the only thing Jim could think as the big red button appeared on the panel, a cover sliding back to expose it.

"1" Spock hit the button and jumped. The explosion billowed out behind him, the view screen showing the Ferengi starship entering hyperspace.

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The explosion threw Spock straight into a wall, his body denting the metal. The three children ran to him, and immediately rolled him over onto his back.

"Lieutenant, will he be alright?" Jim demanded of Nyota.

"I think so, sir. He hit a weak point in the wall, and at an angle that would cause minimum damage. He managed to angle it perfectly." Keep calm. Nyota ordered herself. He'll be fine. He has to be.

"Are you sure?" Pavel begged.

"Yes. The walls here aren't very hard, and Vulcan's are much harder to damage than humans. He'll be fine."

"He's coming around!" Jim's excitement was more than evident, and his statement was correct. Spock's eyes fluttered open, and the chocolate orbs quickly took in his surroundings. As always, the young Vulcan seemed to stay down and rest for more than a millisecond.

"I believe I succeeded. Shall we now attend to the king? I believe we are the only ones with access to his location."

"Why is that?" Jim questioned. Wouldn't the head guard have access to the throne room? I mean, he used a chip thing to get in last time, wouldn't he still have that?"

"He would if I had not taken it." Spock reached inside one of his pockets, and produced a light blue card.

"Genius Spock, genius!" Jim grinned from ear to ear. "Let's go!"

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The children fast approached the throne room, though it was only them, seeing as some of the Ferengis had recovered and had started causing problems on the opposite side of the castle, so almost all of the guards were over there. Spock ran the card by the door, and it wooshed open, to a most unpleasant surprise. Rathingar. Of course. The thing they'd all forgot. The one who was most definitely not Ferengi. But boy, was he mad. The King was unconscious on the other side of the room. Rathingar, who appeared to have been pacing, now looked up. His fur stood on end, and he growled. His claws extended, and he bared his teeth. He lunged at the foursome, who scattered instantly. Jim and Nyota ran in front of the king, Spock went to the right, and Pavel to the left.

Pavel jumped on top of a table, and readied his rocks.

Nyota pulled her knife, and Jim grabbed a phaser from the floor, it must have been taken from the king after an unsuccessful escape attempt.

Spock had no weapon, but he was a Vulcan, and was a weapon in and of himself. Even now, he could feel thousands of years of fighting burning against him, begging to be let out, the warrior inside him awakening for the first time.

Nyota felt so helpless. She had a knife. That was it. If she had a phaser, this would be so much easier.

Rathingar lunged at Spock, obviously thinking him the easiest target. Boy, was he wrong. Spock lept up in the air, and flipped onto the aliens back. Rathingar howled, and threw himself onto his back in an attempt to crush the Vulcan, but Spock flipped around, and used his feet to push off of Rathingar's chest, doing a backflip in the air to land. Rathingar howled, and lunged at Pavel now, who hurled a rock at the fur covered face, and lept beside Jim. The rock hit Rathingar straight in the eye, and while he was growling in pain, Jim let off a round from his phaser. It didn't hit, but the blast knocked some pieces of plaster and debris on the alien, slowing him down further. Rathingar then went back for Spock, as the Vulcan was the only one away from the others, and as Jim could not fire without risking hitting his friend. Rathingar swiped with his claws, but Spock ducked, and darted behind the alien. Rathingar spun about, and managed to knock Spock to the ground. With a grin of triumph, Rathingar bore his claws down hard. Suddenly there was a reddish blur, and Nyota was on the other side of Rathingar, having cut a long stripe across the alien's chest. Purple blood ran from the wound, and though the cut was superficial, it made Rathingar angry. He howled his fury, and lunged at Nyota, only to have Spock swing his legs about to trip him. Rathingar stumbled, regained his balance, and was assaulted by Jim, who had lept up onto his back and begun choke holding him, since the boy had learned that his phaser had no power left. Rathingar twisted, and tried to reach behind himself to claw the young captain, but Nyota rushed him with her knife, which Rathingar dodged, putting himself directly under a great chandelier. Which Pavel hurled a rock at as hard as he could. The chain snapped, Spock lept up on Rathingar's chest to grab and pull off Jim, and Rathingar was buried beneath tons of glass and stone. Alive and defeated. The four children stood panting, shocked at their victory.

"Ve did it." Pavel gasped, shock and disbelief heavy in his voice. "Ve did it! Ve did it!"

"Yeah." Nyota grinned. We - we did! Great job, guys! I mean, we did it! We won!"

"I… I can't believe it!" Jim cried. " We won! We beat a whole Ferengi starship by ourselves!"

"It is most incredible." Spock conceded. "The probability of such an event occurring is…"

"Really small, and that's all we need to know for now." Jim grinned. "I mean, are we awesome, or what?"

"Ve are definitely awesome." Pavel confirmed. "Ve're heros!"

"Yeah!" Nyota beamed. "I bet the king will…" the same thing occurred to everyone at once.

"The king!" The children raced to the fallen monarch, and quickly checked his vitals.

"He is merely unconscious." Spock assured them. "I estimate he will awaken shortly." Sure enough, King Leranindale's eyes flickered open, and he gave an exclamation of surprise.

"What are you doing here? Has that swine trapped you also?"

"Don't worry, sir." Jim assured. "We beat them, that alien guy in here is now under that chandelier, and the Ferengis are either gone or unconscious. You're troops are taking care of the last ones as we speak."

"You defeated the Ferengis? You?"

"That is correct, Your Majesty. Now may you inform us of your physical state? We believe you to be in no danger, however we are not professionals, and your opinion would be appreciated." Spock said, running his gaze over the hefty king's body.

"I am unharmed. And you have my thanks, and the thanks of my kingdom. There shall be great ceremony, and you shall all be remembered forever." The children looked at one each other. How could that be possible? They were just kids. And none of them had exactly planned on going down in history. And yet, things didn't seem to be working the way they'd planned.

"With all due respect, You Majesty, we're Starfleet, and we don't take rewards." Jim had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to end up rewarded weather he liked it or not, but regulations did dictate that he say it. And Spock would kill him if he didn't.

"Please, you must! It would be considered a travesty of justice if you denied us this." Okaaayyy, a travesty of justice. Well then. That sounded like a bad thing.

"Very well, your majesty. We have no wish for such a thing to be committed, we shall gladly participate in your ceremony." Jim wasn't quite sure how strict Starfleet actually was on the whole no rewards thing, he was pretty sure though, that this would be acceptable. And since they were kids, who had totally risked their lives for this thing, when they really didn't have to, he was pretty sure they wouldn't be getting in trouble any time soon. King Leranindale smiled, and lifted himself up from the ground.

"I now have many duties that need attending to, as in any time when we are attacked so, however, I shall have great quarters arranged for you, and you may rest and attend to your injuries."


	8. Chapter 8

****So, what do you think? Should I continue? Should I make a sequel? If so, what are your suggestions? How can I make this one better? How was it already good? I check my mail pretty much every day, so your reviews are all read almost as soon as you send them.****

 **Also** **, no one has commented yet. Be the first! I'm working on getting comments on all my stories, and this one is fair game! Limited time offer, and it doesn't count if you just put "a" or something. Or if you do flames. It must be an actual review. I will not post your name unless asked. Compliments = good, Constructive criticism = good. Be the first to review!**

 **Because seriously, no one has commented yet. And if you've read this far, I would really like to know what you think. This is one of my favorite stories, but no one out there seems to like it enough to review. Please review.**

 **Chapter 8**

Finally, the four children were seated in a luxurious room, courtesy of the very-thankful Myterrians, All but Spock positively bouncing with excitement.

"Ve're vegular veros!" Pavel exclaimed excitedly, beaming from ear to ear. He had done it. He had proved the power of Russia, and he had saved Spock, and now apparently he was going to be remembered forever, or something. This was amazing!

"The statement that we are 'regular heroes' is self contradicting…" Spock began, though inwardly he to was bouncing off the walls, though there was no way they'd ever get him to show it. If only he could tell his father about everything that had happened! Surely then, father would really be proud of him, though mother would likely 'make good' on her threats to ground him for a month, as she had often threatened after one of Spock's science experiments exploded. Spock noticed suddenly that Nyota had interrupted him.

"Really Spock, there's no need for that." Her grin rivaled Pavel's. "It's just an expression." She wasn't really mad, though. This was maybe the best day of her life. Boy, just wait until she got home and told that stuck up Herman back home about this. Boy, would it shut him up. And, this would be a huge step for both kids and girls all at once! Ha, in your face Herman.

"Terran expressions are illogical."

"Well why do you think we like them so much?" Jim grinned. He thrived off of these little verbal spars. They were what made life worthwhile, as far as he was concerned. That and being the ubercool captain of an ubercool spaceship, with an ubercool crew to boot. This was amazing!

The still celebrating crew was interrupted by the arrival of King Leranindale, who apperently was going to personally work out the ceremony thing with them.

"Ah, captain! Are you ready to discuss the details of the ceremony?"

"We are quite eager to discuss these details, Your Majesty. And thank you for taking the time out to work with us personally. I'm sure you must be very busy… now." Oh, great ending! Jim berated himself silently.

"Ah yes. We. My apologies, captain. And crew. We are yet unaccustomed to addressing the subordinates of the higher classed individuals. This, thanks to you, is something we shall change to some extent very soon."

"We are honored to be the initiators of such an event." Spock said, diplomatically, simultaneously managing to seem to throw off the king a bit.

"O-of course. My apologies, I am unaccustomed to… lower ranking individuals addressing me. However, I suppose I must learn to adapt! Please continue to speak unto me, it is proving to be most helpful in the ways of adaption. However, now we have your knighting to discuss. And as to my coming personally, think nothing of it. It is custom that I come here."

"Knighting?" All four children cried simultaneously: this was totally unanticipated.

"Of course. This is the highest honor our culture can bestow, so obviously we must confer it upon you."

"Obviously." Jim said, mind reeling. It didn't seem obvious to him at all.

"Now, do you wish to be knighted as a group, or as individuals? It will affect your title. Our knights are given titles: if they are a single knight, they may be Severan the Bold, or Glandire the Valiant. If they are in groups, they may be The Sons of Hanson, or the Three Knights of Guildire. These titles must reflect upon some character trait, or why you have been knighted, whatever it is you wish to be remembered by. Also, we may need some details from your life to decide what you best represent. In the ceremony we shall not linger too long, the people simply accept that we have given an accurate assessment. What you represent is necessarily be tied to your heroics here, that is why the questions are necessary. Now shall you go as a group, or individuals?"

Jim smiled. "Group. And I have the perfect name."

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The grand hall was exquisitely decorated, the cheering crowds ecstatic at the knighting, something that almost never happened. Flowers hung, bands played, and the king stood on a grand stage at the end of a long pathway through the hall. All in all, it looked almost exactly like the scene in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" where the Pevensies are crowned kings and queens. Then the intrepid quartet began walking forward, as they had so often rehearsed, till the all knelt before the king, Jim on far stage right, then Spock, then Nyota, then Pavel. The king walked first to Jim, and stood, sword in hand, as was custom.

"James Kirk. The leader. Forever he will be remembered as the representation of leadership, strength under pressure, and courage." The king pressed the flat of the sword to both of Jim's shoulders, and Jim turned, and stood, blue eyes snapping with energy and joy. King Leranindale moved on to Spock.

"Spock, son of Sarek. The first officer, also bearing the burden of science officer. Forever he will be remembered as the embodiment of strength under persecution, of sacrificing for a noble cause, and endurance to the end." The ceremony of shoulder touching and standing was repeated, and Spock stood by Jim's side, as the king moved on to Nyota.

"Nyota Uhura. The communications officer. Forever she shall be remembered as the bringer of female equality, as the first female knight. She is the reminder of innovation, and of an indomitable spirit." Ceremony once more was repeated; Nyota took her place beside Spock.

"And finally, Pavel Chekov. Navigator. We look to him to remember that youth is no dictator of greatness. He shall remind us of loyalty to one's country and friends, and he shall forever remind us weapons need not kill." Once more was ceremony performed, and Pavel stood beside Nyota. King Leranindale turned and faced the crowd.

"I give you all, now and forever more… The Starfleet Four!"

Then then a random bolt of lightning hit a redshirt and he died.


End file.
